Jennifer Lee Magas

Biography

I am currently an Assistant Professor of Practice at Texas Tech University where I specialize in teaching PCOM 3373 Business Communication in the Department of Professional Communication. For 20+ years, I have also been proud to hold the title of co-owner and VP of Magas Media Consultants, a public relations agency started in the NYC area, specializing in media relations, media law, crisis communications, financial services PR, professional writing, and media training. 

Additionally, I am a "recovering" Employment Law attorney for the HR department of Louis Dreyfus Commodities, an international commodity trading firm where I handled the employee relations for 9,600 employees in the U.S. and Canada and was responsible for the development, writing, and effective communication and training of the Company's policies, procedures, and goals to employees. 

I have a wealth of experience in all aspects of public relations and communications to draw on from my 25-plus years as a college professor, technical writer, journalist, trainer, consultant, and attorney in a wide range of corporate, media outlets, legal, and university settings. I am a first-generation college student who holds a BA in Literature and Creative Writing from Fairfield University, a MA in Technical and Professional Writing from Northeastern University with a focus on Legal Writing, and a JD from Suffolk University School of Law with a concentration on Higher Education Law and Employment Law. During my undergraduate and law school tenure, I worked for National Public Radio, represented indigent clients through Harvard Law School's Tenant Advocacy Project, was an Editor for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's Legal History Journal, and was an Editor for my law school newspaper, Dicta. 

I also have 25 years of experience teaching, working, and serving on committees in campus departments (Communications Department, English Department, Writing Center, Judicial Affairs Office, and the Office of Community Relations and Development) where I collaborated with staff, faculty, and students for assessment, teaching, training, programming, scheduling, marketing, writing, event planning and policy, and procedure development purposes. I developed 30 hands-on real-world in-person, online, hybrid, and service-learning undergraduate and graduate courses. My teaching career includes many prestigious institutions, such as Fairfield University, Pace University, Northeastern University, Sacred Heart University, Post University, the University of Bridgeport, UCONN, and Yale, where I have been honored to receive several writing and teaching awards.

I am proud to have helped over 30,000 employees, interns, and students create professional job search documents such as resumes, cover letters, elevator speeches, portfolios, and LinkedIn profiles to obtain employment. I regularly speak on writing, workplace, and PR topics, have spoken at conferences, and have been quoted or featured in over 200+ articles and blogs. I have a husband, two teenagers, and a cat named Loki "God of Mischief" who lives up to his name! I talk fast and wear many hats: professor, lawyer, writer, speaker, trainer, mom, PR strategist, nonprofit volunteer, marathoner, and Red Raider.

Research Areas

• Corporate & Organizational
• Crisis
• Interpersonal
• Journalism
• Public Relations
• Social Media

Teaching Focus

PCOM 3373 Business Communication